I'm looking at a 2011 Leaf with 60k+ miles on it. The battery shows a full 12 bars so it's either had a battery replacement or its been monkeyed with. (The seller is reputable but you never know...) The car was previously a CA lease car and the seller (a used car dealership) doesn't have any service records. Is there an easy way to identify if it has a new "lizard" pack installed? It is out of state so I can't poke around the car myself. Thanks!

LeafSpy will show 4 battery temperature sensors for 11/12, for newer, only 3 will show. The newer packs have2 high voltage connections versus the 1 for 11/12, but I think the under panels would have to be pulledto view. Any way if you can't have access then neither method will work.

Get the VIN and take it to the dealer with a printout of the ad for the car. Tell them you are thinking of buying the car and would bring it there for checkup/maintenance. They may not give you the history printout, but I bet they would tell you if the battery was swapped.

[s]2015 LEAF SV in Gunmetal Gray[/s] Returned 2/2018"The only gas in this vehicle comes from the driver." I drive a LEAF, it doesn't have Ludicrous or Insane mode. It only has Slightly Annoyed mode.

I have a new Lizard battery and it still shows four temperature sensors so I question that...

cliff wrote:LeafSpy will show 4 battery temperature sensors for 11/12, for newer, only 3 will show. The newer packs have2 high voltage connections versus the 1 for 11/12, but I think the under panels would have to be pulledto view. Any way if you can't have access then neither method will work.

QC and L1/L2 charge counts are not reset during battery replacement and ampere-hours capacity takes time to stabilize after LBC reset so there is no information from the CAN bus that you can rely on to clearly show that battery was replaced. If you cannot get a Nissan dealer to look up history, you could do a range test or measure energy to charge on L2 from dead (main contactor open) to full to get a good indication of actual battery capacity. A true 12-bar battery should take at least 22 kWh to charge from dead to full on L2 and deliver actual driving range in accordance with Tony Williams' charts.

cliff wrote:LeafSpy will show 4 battery temperature sensors for 11/12, for newer, only 3 will show. The newer packs have2 high voltage connections versus the 1 for 11/12, but I think the under panels would have to be pulledto view. Any way if you can't have access then neither method will work.

My 2013 S was manufactured in August 2013 and has only 3 sensors showing in LeafSpy, and I have heard good things happened to battery tech as 2013 production ramped up in the USA, so I'm hoping that my battery is from after some sort of generational change (for the better). It sounds like there have been 3 generations of battery, and I'd like to collect the definitive "how to tell what battery you have" in one place.

I've searched and searched this forum for "how tell lizard" and I can't find any reference to - Why it is called Lizard- If there are any visual differences you can see by peeking under your car (can you see the mounting bracket differences?)- If there is agreement on the meaning of 3 temp sensors (Leaf Spy says I have sensors 1, 2, and 4)- When the VIN number or production-month breaks are for the USA transition in battery types (I'm 414434 / August)

GerryAZ wrote:QC and L1/L2 charge counts are not reset during battery replacement and ampere-hours capacity takes time to stabilize after LBC reset so there is no information from the CAN bus that you can rely on to clearly show that battery was replaced.

Another thing you can try... Check to see if you have a previous owners name listed in carwings and where the car called home. I did this with one of my Leafs and was ultimately able to contact the previous leaser of the vehicle and with his help got all of the service records. Also, if you need a list of what parts it takes the dealer to put a lizard into a 2011, pm me for the list. It takes a support kit and that could help be an identifier if you get your hands on more info about previous service to your car. Or if you can find the Nissan dealer that the car was previously serviced, they have more detailed service records on file, than any other Nissan dealer.

Last edited by Evoforce on Mon Nov 09, 2015 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.